EE murder trial begins

Trial began in Grand Court on Monday for Trevino Tennson Bodden, who pleaded not guilty to murdering Bernard Scott and Roy Renold Pearson in East End on or about 2 November 2006.

Solicitor General Cheryll Richards told the jury that said the three men were known to each other: Mr. Scott and Mr. Pearson were brothers; Bodden was their cousin.

Opening the Prosecution’s case to the panel of eight women and four men, Ms Richards explained that the evidence in the case would come from witnesses, but she summarised what to expect.

The night began with festivities at the Pirates Cove Bar in East End. Mr. Scott, also known as Chicken Bone, and Bodden, also known as TJ, were there with other people.

When the group left the bar, they walked down Welcome Way to Fiddlers Way, which comes to a dead end. They stopped in an area where some people were playing board games and others were talking.

An altercation occurred between Mr. Scott and Bodden. Details were not known, but witnesses would say they saw Bodden initiate the altercation by pushing and punching Mr. Scott, who responded by punching and hitting Bodden. A fight ensued and the two men were parted by some of the witnesses present.

Bodden then removed his shirt and slippers and said he was coming back. Witnesses said he left the area and minutes elapsed. It is alleged that when Bodden returned, he had a firearm which he used to inflict fatal injuries, first to Mr. Scott.

Mr. Scott received five gunshot wounds, four of them to his chest. Ms Richards said his life appeared to end at that very spot.

When Mr. Pearson saw what had happened he approached Bodden and asked what he was doing to his brother. Bodden turned and fired at him.

Mr. Pearson was taken to George Town Hospital where he underwent surgery, but succumbed to his gunshot wounds.

Bodden left the scene running. Later that morning, he was arrested, photographed and processed.

The firearm was not recovered.

Ms Richards told the jury that one of the main issues would be identification – whether it was Bodden who did these acts and caused the deaths of these two men.

The first witness was a scenes of crime officer, who took photographs of the area in which the shootings took place. Copies of the photos were provided for jurors. The officer also submitted shell casings from the scene, all of which were Luger nine-millimetre.